Books and AuthorsLILLIAN KENDRICK BYRN
Books and AuthorsLILLIAN KENDRICK BYRN
LILLIAN KENDRICK BYRN
Although his previous books have shown Mr. Spearman as an observant student of human nature, an excellent story teller and a literary artist of ability, the reader who picks up “Whispering Smith” will lay it down with the verdict that this character is a genuine contribution to literature. Without departing from the rules of literary construction Mr. Spearman has described scenes so far from hackneyed that they seem absolutely new in every element of their creation. Whispering Smith is a secret service agent for a Rocky Mountain railroad and his business is to defend the enterprise against all sorts of enemies and rough and lawless characters which abound in that region. He owes his sobriquet to a certain softness of voice, to which he adds a simple, straightforward and unaffected integrity. This is the principal character in the story, beside the heroine, a breezy, yet thoroughly feminine girl brought up on a ranch. The rest of the dramatis personae are the cowboys, railroad men, bandits and other types characteristic of the frontier, all depicted to the life by one who knows his subject.
Miss Bonner’s previous California romances, “To-morrow’s Tangle” and “The Pioneer,” have made for her a wide circle of readers. “Rich Men’s Children” is even stronger and more thrilling in interest than its predecessors. The conflicts of two generations and the bold passions of the far West are delineated with courageous directness and dramatic vigor. The whole story is absorbing and fascinating, yet the author does not allow the reader to lose sight of the purpose, which is adhered to with remarkable sincerity and fidelity.
This little volume contains fifty-one sonnets, arranged under the sub-titles of “The King’s Heart” and “The Queen’s Crown.” The two themes love and grief, are treated with a sustained purity and artistic restraint that will give this poetry high rank. The heart verses, of which there are twenty-five, are passionate and tender, instinct with deep feeling, vividly expressed. There are twenty-six of the crown sonnets. These tell of a great sorrow, now expressed in rapid, incisive words and now reiterated in graceful, musical measure. The volume is a beautiful example of the bookmaker’s craft, in soft morocco binding, highly ornamented with gold, deckle-edged, tinted paper, printed in two colors.
The author of this sketch, a prominent member of the Chattanooga bar, has worked out a logical solution of the race problem, which he presents in a clear and concise way to his readers. There have been many discussions of this important question, but few which are so clearly and logically expressed, so dispassionately proven and so well connected as Mr. Fry’s views.
The publication of Mrs. Terhune’s last novel added a pleasant feature to the celebration of the author’s golden wedding. An authority on household matters of all kinds, this talented Virginian selected for her latest theme the experiences of a newly married young couple, who move into a little house in the suburbs and plunge at once into housekeeping. It is the simplest kind of housekeeping, and yet to Martha—full of theories and ideas as she is—it quickly becomes very complicated. Her struggles with seemingly simple recipes, and the extraordinary food that is produced by an apparently exact following of the rules, are told in a brightly humorous way that is irresistible. Later, when increased prosperity brings Martha face to face with the servant problem, her difficulties are equally grave. The way in which she triumphs, however, will be an inspiration to everyone struggling with the same difficulties.
“Daddy” is an amiable, patient, literary man, who, like many of his kind, finds it difficult to make both ends meet. His four daughters are distinct individualities, each with a separate charm, which is brought into play in the course of the account of the family happenings. Another family of girls, with three brothers, lives on the other side of the garden hedge, and their joint excursions and adventures form the incidents of this very readable juvenile.
Miss Thompson is notable among authors for the young for her understanding of youthful character and the sustained interest of her plots. Polly is a revolutionary heroine, a little rebel among the loyal Scots of the Carolinas. She leaves her own home and finds refuge with an uncle and does her best for the colonies. The ubiquitous Tarleton plays the villain royalist and is completely outwitted when he encounters the ready and brave little Polly.
One of the most interesting of the nonsense jingles offered for the holiday trade is “Animal Serials.” The rhymes are clever and amusing and the illustrations are exceedingly apt. The humor in each so thoroughly corresponds to the other that they can be appreciated by all youngsters.
Professor Knox has spent many years in the East and in his beautifully illustrated work on the manners and customs of that part of the world he has given us a valuable and interesting picture of the awakening of the spirit of progress there. This has been especially noticeable since the Russo-Japanese War; and the rapid increase of our own holdings in the Far East intensifies the profound import of this problem. The author defines sharply the difference between the Eastern and the Western character in the following paragraph: “Man ... seems overpowered by nature in the East, but he attempts to conquer it in the West.”
This collection of delicate sketches of antebellum Southern life gives the experiences of a Southern gentlewoman who loves the old South and who has the power to make others know and love it. The reminiscences possess the blended humor and pathos which characterize the best descriptions of plantation life, and bringclearly before us the scenes of those times. The manner of their telling is finished and most readable, apart from the interest attaching to the incidents narrated.
Mr. Pulitzer’s sparkling cynicisms are so well-known that readers pick up his work with the certainty of enjoyment. In these little “confidences” we have a varied assortment of neatly-turned maxims, perverted mottoes, and sage, though sarcastic, advice. The publishers have given the text a most inviting cover and the marginal decorations are especially attractive.
In the richest of morocco bindings this memorial volume attracts the eye at once. The forty poems are representative specimens of the work of the gifted author, who died recently. A Virginian and a graduate of Washington and Lee University, Mr. Bocock first practiced law, but having from his earliest youth had a passion for the pen, he definitely entered journalism in 1883. His newspaper work covered a wide range but his best-known work shows his love for the classics, which the present little volume also clearly reveals. The little quatrain on “Oblivion” will show the delicate charm of his poesy:
Sweet lotos-orbed, velvet-footed maid,That slippest o’er the wrinkled ocean’s brim,Garlanded with blue flowers of distance dim—Is death the passport to thine Isles of Shade?
Sweet lotos-orbed, velvet-footed maid,That slippest o’er the wrinkled ocean’s brim,Garlanded with blue flowers of distance dim—Is death the passport to thine Isles of Shade?
Sweet lotos-orbed, velvet-footed maid,That slippest o’er the wrinkled ocean’s brim,Garlanded with blue flowers of distance dim—Is death the passport to thine Isles of Shade?
Sweet lotos-orbed, velvet-footed maid,
That slippest o’er the wrinkled ocean’s brim,
Garlanded with blue flowers of distance dim—
Is death the passport to thine Isles of Shade?
It is a far cry from “The Quick or the Dead?” to “Sélene” and “Augustine the Man,” but Amélie Rives has made the transition without apparent effort. In the form of a stirring drama she traces the emotions and spiritual throes of the Numidian bishop, the poet, the lover, the father and afterwards the saint. The work is indeed notable, carrying the reader with irresistible interest through Augustine’s changes of philosophy and arousing the keenest sympathy for the human side of the man. The publishers in addition to a binding charming in its simplicity, have added an exquisitely etched portrait of the author.
There is a perennial fascination in college stories. Even to the uninitiated the atmosphere of athletic sport, of chaff and slang and frank absence of interest in lectures is most alluring. Mr. Holland has given us, in the adventures of “The Count,” a thoroughly interesting picture of life among that class of students whose object is merely to pass some years of agreeable leisure at Harvard. The afternoon teas, the musical evenings, the “proms” and the games are all attractively set forth.
Many who are familiar with Mr. Douglas’ poems inSt. Nicholas,Judgeand other periodicals will be surprised to learn that he has been a “shut-in” for ten years. His poems all show the unfailing cheerfulness, the genial wit and irresistible gayety which marks the born optimist. He is equally at home in children’s dialect and coon songs. In addition to his magazine contributions Mr. Douglas manages a “Sunshine” department in a number of periodicals, a league of young readers, everyone of whom is pledged to make this world a better place to live in.